The system is used as an intelligent first responder wild fire protection and containment tool in the first aspect. The new invention cost effectively controls the spread of wildfire, resulting in saving lives, homes and other commercial building structures in high risk urban wild land interface fires. The system is designed to protect entire subdivisions, cities, towns, villages and the environment from an approaching wildfire by remote operation. The robust system creates an effective contiguous suppression blanket on fuel sources and multi story building structures using new method called layering. The use of this system and methods described in this application will save governments and insurance companies billions in cost to fight wildfire and resulting damages.
The invention is designed to protect entire neighborhoods, large tracts of land, by traversing several linear miles of land if needed, over any type of terrain. The Rain Maker system is self contained, operates by remote control transmitter after set up, and operates independent of fire trucks. After system initial rapid setup and system check by first responders, fire fighters activate the system by remote transmitter (a wireless device), as they retreat to a safe zone removing all personnel and fire trucks from the danger zone. The Rain Maker will then blanket buildings and fuel sources in a 360 degree contiguous pattern projecting fire suppressant more than four stories skyward, into tree tops and all over buildings creating a rain like blanketing effect, thus treating all possible ignition points with suppressant slurries, gel mixes or water, starving the fire of fuel sources. Thus the name The Rain Maker was born. Wildfires are becoming increasingly more devastating every year as more and more subdivisions are being built in high risk Wild land Urban Interface areas. Traditional methods of fighting wildfire have had little impact on saving homes and other building structures. In California where I live, wildfires are an annual occurrence. West coast wildfire events always have several factors involved, the lack of rain, extreme heat, wind, hills, slopes, very tall oily trees, scrub brush, dry arid conditions, and an abundance of extremely dry fuel sources including homes with wooden roofs built next to wild forest land. When the combination of the above mentioned conditions comes together with an ignition source like a lightening strike, down power line or human error it usually produces a large out of control wildfire. Once the fire reaches the neighborhood and starts burning homes the heat and flames are intensified, add high wind and you have a 3-5000 degree F. inferno. It becomes virtually impossible to stop the domino effect of trees, homes and subsequent flying embers igniting everything around them. It is common at this stage of wild land urban interface fire for incident command to pull all fire fighting personnel out of harms way. As risk of injury and death to fire fighters are at their highest. Also it is at this stage in the fire fight that multiple fires are igniting throughout the area due to wind driven debris.
The key to preventing the destruction of homes and commercial buildings subsequently entire towns, is a device and system that overcomes the conditions mentioned above. A 23 year veteran battalion Chief who has battled wildfire first hand, and whom tested my prototype invention believes that it will create a paradigm shift in the wildfire theater on many fronts. See Chief Cormier's letter included with this application file. I believe I have incorporated 21st century technology along with optimum capability that would give a first responder an intelligent fire fighting tool that would enable them to obtain faster containment using the safest method or best practice. Currently fire fighters worldwide are still using conventional fire fighting methods, single hose and nozzle per fireman and a few monitor apparatus and air tankers in their assault. However some fires still manage to burn out of control for weeks. Just recently wildfires have burned down entire communities, killing hundreds in Australia, Israel, and the US. These fires are extremely costly to fight usually requiring vast resources and man power. Additionally the risk of injury and death to fire fighters is very high as more than 45 first responders died in Israel and Texas during wild fire incidents in recent months.